Breaking my arm

[N9062A]

Excuse me a moment while I try and pat my own back. This last weekend I won the Valdez Fly In STOL competion for the light touring class. I didn't think I would be competitive with my "49" C170a so I kept the back and co-pilot seat in and didn't drain any fuel. What I did do was practice for four days a week leading up to the competition. The C180 and C172 with a 180hp, and a C170 with a 210hp conversion all beat me on takeoff, but the winner was judged by adding your best takeoff and landing and dividing by two. My score was 174ft, with a gusty 10kt headwind. I won a pair of true-lock axcle nuts. Any feedback on these yet?

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Cool competition right up my alley to bad Valdez isn't in my back yard.

Congratrulations.

What are true-lock axle nuts?

[GAHorn]

Tru-Lok axle nuts are a complex solution looking for a non-existant problem to solve. If you ever lose or damage one you'll be frustated in searching for a replacement. But that's just my opinion. (Still a great prize.... or a great donation to the convention auction?)

[N9062A]

I'm hoping it will reduce time changing from skis.

[buchanan]

Congratulations N9062A,

174' is darned good!!! I'm curious, are you stock? If not, what mods? What do you weigh?

I have a 180hp B with the Sportsman cuff and I can't match what you did. I can come close though. Maybe with practice.

Buck............Galena

[N9062A]

Except for 6-850 tires it's stock. C-145 with single puck clev. brakes. The head wind helped, the practice was the big factor . Three weeks, 3-4 times a week.

[jon s blocker]

Congrats! Quite an accomplishment ! How much does your plane weigh? What method did you use for the take off? I understand the wind was 10 to 15 Kts. Not much considering the distance. Shows what a GOOD pilot can do in the real world , if one is willing to practice. Was that the competition the Carbon Cub took off in 19 ft? Bill Rusk is another Excellent 170 pilot when it comes to STOL. Again, Congrats! Jon

[N9062A]

I'm not sure about the excact weight, it is in the normal range though. The way I used this weekend was lock the brakes and run up full power. Unlock the brakes and as soon as possible lift the tail, count two seconds and pull the yoke back while cranking in all the flaps. This puts me off in the shortest distance but still in ground effect, not really flying. Slowly bleed off the flaps while picking up airspeed at low level.

[N9062A]

The carbon cub was most impressive. The valdez post in this forum has a link to a video that has the cub's take-off.

[Romeo Tango]

The magic to short landings is good headwinds.

The entire month of May in NorCal has = buttkicking winds. Last night I took the T34 over San Francisco and heard the tower reporting to transport aircraft:

"Wind from 240 35 gusting 42. Caution, 20 knot windshear loss on the runway". Ouch!

I like taking my C170 into that, and exiting at the entrance taxiway under 75% power. I can just imagine the B744 captain on the interphone "lock down the Chardonnay, this is going to be rough on takeoff".

[hilltop170]

N9062A-
Nice job at Valdez. I saw your two take-offs and landings, nicely done. I was waiting in line in the dark blue C-180 for the Heavy Touring Class competition. There was no way to beat the C-182s, both had a score of 163, but I was satisfied with a 203. My shorter take-off was 158' and landing was 248'. If I could just get stopped as fast as you did, I might have had a chance. I wasn't trying to win, just did it for the fun of it. I left all the seats and survival gear in as well as 38 gallons of gas. Maybe next year I'll get competitive..